I am a plastic surgeon in Little Rock, AR. I used to "suture for a living", I continue "to live to sew". These days most of my sewing is piecing quilts. I love the patterns and interplay of the fabric color. I would like to explore writing about medical/surgical topics as well as sewing/quilting topics. I will do my best to make sure both are represented accurately as I share with both colleagues and the general public.

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Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Updated 3/2017: photos and all links removed as many no longer active and it was easier than going through each one.

Shrink Rap is the host for this week’s Grand Rounds. You can read this week’s Summer Solstice “Hot” edition here.

Shrink Rap is hosting our third Grand Rounds today on June 21, which is the first day of Summer. In keeping with the summer solstice theme, we asked for submissions that have a theme of "hot." However, "hot" may refer to not just temperature, but also spiciness, luck, passion, anger, popularity, etc.

Our first Grand Rounds in 2007 featured a clicky brain, and the second featured the then-new iPhone 3G, complete with clicky iPhone apps. This time, we've used clicky pictures that exemplify the "hot" theme. . ……..

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Yesterday, NPR ran this article by Alix Spiegel on inattentional blindness: Why Seeing (The Unexpected) Is Often Not Believing

……The goal of all this was to answer a question: Is it possible to see something really, really obvious and not perceive it? …….

When psychologists Chabris and Simons ……..They do research on something called inattentional blindness, or how people fail to see things that are directly in front of them when they're focused on something else. And in Conley they felt they had found a compelling example. ……….

This topic is important to patient safety as seen in this article: Inattentional blindness: What captures your attention?

A nurse pulls a vial of heparin from an automated dispensing cabinet (ADC). She reads the label, prepares the medication, and administers it intravenously to an infant. The infant receives heparin in a concentration of 10,000 units/mL instead of 10 units/mL and dies. ……

Expectation has a powerful effect on our ability to pay attention and notice information. If the medication we are looking for comes in a carton with a highly stylized label, we come to expect this presentation every time we look for the medication…….

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Dr. Cynthia Bailey has a nice post on sunburn: What is a sunburn?

A sunburn tells you that damage and inflammation have happened inside your skin from UV exposure; you exposed yourself to more sun than your skin type can handle…..and there’s simply no good news about it! ….

In this Sunburn Series I’m going to give you a dermatologist’s explanation of what happens in your skin when you get

a sunburn (i.e. why it’s red and hurts)

a tan (i.e. how much sun protection you get from one)

I’m also going to give you some helpful information to heal sunburned skin andexplain how to prevent ever getting a sunburn again. …….

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Dr Val, Better Health, is now hosting a radio show called, "Healthy Vision with Dr. Val Jones." It is currently available here on iTunes. The show has three segments (one about the importance of regular eye exams, one about contact lens care, and one about UV protection for eyes). It's available as a full show (20 minutes) and as individual segments.

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Dr. Kathryn Clancy, Assistant Professor of Anthropology at the University of Illinois, answers the question: Why do we menstruate?

…..I will answer three different ones for you: Why do we menstruate? What did we do back in the day? and What is appropriate today?

Why do we menstruate?

Humans are not the only animals to undergo cycles of growth and regression in our endometrial lining. Yet, only a few animals actually menstruate. Menstruation has occasionally been observed in other great apes (this is the primate group where humans belong, with the chimps, bonobos, gorillas and orangs), and a few other animals. As far as we can tell, everyone else resorbs the lining before growing a new one. It seems to be that those animals who menstruate, do so because the amount of lining they have is greater than what they are able to resorb. …….

I’m in a Sadistic/ Masochistic relationship, and I like it. Now don’t get any crazy ideas, but really I let this guy strap electrodes to my leg, put me in a 40 pound flack jacket and then do exercises, and that is just the beginning. Yep, I’m talking about my physical therapist. Still I go back twice a week because he knows what he’s doing and I’m getting better. ………

I go, I go twice a week. I spend 3 +/- hours there and I do whatever he says. My reward, today he had me run on a treadmill. 5 months after my surgery and I’m starting to run again. I’m well on the road back. It feels great. I’m good with this S&M thing we have going on! ……..

You may have heard about it through the sewing grapevine, but now it's nearly here - the premiere of "It's Sew Easy" is June 30 on PBS stations across the country. It's great news when a national audience is exposed to the fun of sewing!

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My purpose in writing my blog is to attempt to provide good solid medical information on topics of my choosing. It is a way to educate myself, my colleagues, and the general public. References will be provided on medical posts, but not on opinion essays or poetry posts. An additional purpose is to share my interest in quilting topics, a way to show my human side.

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In early 2009 I joined the Better Health Network. As part of that Network, I will occasionally be paid for my writing. Those posts will be clearly noted. I will strive to maintain my high ethical standards. If I add any advertising, it will be clearly marked as such.

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